Christie Removed from Primary Ballot by Maine Judge

A Maine Superior Court judge sided with a state decision that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie fell short of the necessary number of certified signatures to be included on the March 5 primary ballot. 

Maine Director of Elections Heidi Peckham said this month that the Christie 2024 presidential campaign had only submitted 844 of a required 2,000 certified signatures required to be on the state’s primary ballot, CBS News reported.

Christie’s campaign appealed the decision, but Maine Superior Court Justice Julia Lipez on Thursday said that Christie’s campaign “did not separate petition forms by town, as instructed by the Secretary, or, in the alternative, give himself sufficient time to bring those multi-town signature sheets to the relevant municipalities before the November 20 deadline.”

A Christie spokesperson said that when Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ office made its decision, the campaign had gathered 6,000 signatures and argued that it was “simply a procedural issue with the way they reviewed signatures and is under appeal.”

The Christie campaign on Thursday said it disagrees with the court’s decision and is “evaluating our options.” 

“We appreciate that the court upheld the integrity of Maine’s well-established ballot access requirements,” Bellows said in a statement. “Every candidate, including presidential candidates, must follow the law to qualify for the ballot. We are glad that the court recognized that Maine law is workable and fair to all.” 

Christie can still file as a write-in candidate and has until Tuesday to do so, the secretary of state’s office said. 

Christie is already facing calls to drop out of the race and consolidate support around an alternative candidate to fight against former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in the primary. 

The Christie campaign has been focusing its efforts on the Jan. 23 primary in New Hampshire. 

Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, and pastor Ryan Binkley have qualified for the Maine GOP ballot.